Japan stressed today that a decision by the US and South Korea to delay a huge military drill was not tantamount to an easing of the pressure on North Korea.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tokyo, Washington, and Seoul remained committed to applying maximum pressure on the secretive regime.
The three allies "have confirmed a shared policy to further increase pressure against North Korea," Suga told a regular press briefing.
"Including this case (the delaying of the drill), Japan, the US and South Korea closely share information and align policies regarding North Korea," Suga said.
"The decision on the timing of the joint exercise is not designed to compromise the increased pressure on North Korea," he said.
US President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-In yesterday agreed to delay the giant Foal Eagle and Key Resolve joint military drills until after the Winter Olympics, which begin in Pyeongchang on February 9.
In a further sign of possibly easing tension, the North agreed to hold its first talks with the South since December 2015.
Next week's scheduled talks come after tensions spiralled in recent months following North Korea's multiple missile launches and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test -- purportedly of a hydrogen bomb.
Trump has also traded personal insults with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-Un, rattling regional allies.
Japan, a key US ally in the region, has been singled out by Pyongyang amid threats to "sink" the country into the sea and to turn it into "ashes."
In a New Year speech on Thursday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the security situation facing his country was the worst since 1945 and vowed "maximum pressure" on North Korea to force it into dropping its missile and nuclear programmes.
"It is not too much to say that the security surrounding our country is the most severe since the end of World War II," said the prime minister.
"We will strengthen our defence that is truly needed for protection of our people.
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